Improvement in harvester-grinders



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

R. P. CLARKE.

MW 7 JWenZQZ N.PETERS. PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. D C

m'tnesses.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

R. PHILLIPS CLARKE, OF GREEN ISLAND, ASSIGNOB TO ALBERT S. ROBINSON ANDNELSON LYON, OF ALBANY, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN HARVESTER-GRINDERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 213,873, dated April 1,1879; application filed January 24, 1879.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, R. PHILLIPS CLARKE, ofGreen Island, in the county of Albany and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Holding andGrinding Knives of Gutter-Bars of Mowers and Reapers, which improvementsare fully described in the following specification and accompanyingdrawings in two sheets, in which- Figurel represents a view from aboveof the improved device. Fig. 2 is a view of the same from the rear. Fig.3 is a side elevation. Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation; and Fig. 5 is adetailed view of the locking device of the swiveled holding-jaws used inmy invention.

My invention relates to certain improvements in devices for holding andgrinding knives of reapers and mowers, as will be hereinafter fullydescribed.

The object of my invention is to produce a device for holding harvesterand mower knives at any angle with the face of the grindingstone, and becapable of being adjusted to any diameter of stone used, and at the sametime be fully under the control of the operator for shifting the knivesin a ready manner, and imparting to the knives a reciprocating movementon the stone from their heels to points, as may be required.

In the drawings, A represents the baseplate, employed for attachment tothe frame A of the grindstone. From said base-plate project the ears ona, to which the frame B B B is pivoted or connected by a hinge-joint, bymeans of the rod 1), passing through cars a a. and the lower ends of theframe-pieces B B. Made with frame B B B is the vertical bar 13*, withear B attached to the same. Made with one of the sides of frame B B B isthe flange I), provided with several pin-holes, w m. A is a check rod orbar, made with a curved form, preferably, and provided with a curvedslot, 0, which slot receives the pin 6, which passes through one of theholes 00 in the flange I), made with frame B B B The opposite end ofsaid check-bar is pivoted to the frame of the grindstone, as at c inFigs. 1, 3, and 4, so that the slotted end may be raised or lowered inrelation to frame B B B, as may be required.

The frame B B B carries the adjustable frame 0 O O, which latter frameworks between the sides of the former, and may be elevated or lowered inrelation to the same to the distance equal to the length of the slot d,made in the vertical bar 0 of frame 0 O O. The ear B made with thevertical bar B of the pivoted frame, works through the slot 01, made inthe vertical bar of the adjustable frame. Pivoted to the ear B is thecam-lever D, which cam-lever, when its lever end is thrown up, operateson the vertical bar 0 at the sides of slot d, to bind or crowd the sametight against the vertical bar B of the pivoted frame, and therebyfirmly hold the adjustable frame secure with the pivoted frame.

When the lever end is thrown down the lock of the two frames will beopened, so that the adjustable frame may be freely moved upward ordownward on the pivoted frame.

Made with the side pieces of the adjustable frame, and extending fromtheir upper ends, are the ears f f, with which ears is pivoted the rockbar or plate E, from cars g g, by means of the rod h, which serves aspintles for the hinged connections of said rock-plate with theadjustable frame. Made with or secured to rock-plate E is the sleeve F.

G and G constitute the knife-holder, connected with the rock plate orbar E by means of the cylindrical arm G working in the sleeve F. Theparts G and G of the knife-holder are pivoted together by means of therod I, passing through the rear portions of said parts, as shown, or byshort pintles, as may be selected. Made in the front ends of the sideportions of the holding parts G and G are the recesses J and J. At theextreme ends of the side portions of the part G are made the rests k It.With the extreme ends of the side portions of the part G, and forward ofrecesses J, are made the holding-jaws l l.

The side portions of part G are connected by the transverse bar m, castwith said side portions, and provided with car a. The side portions ofpart G are connected by the transverse bar 0, and are provided with aslot, 0',

through which car n of harm projects. Pivoted to said ear is thecam-lever p, which cam-lever, when its lever end is raised, throws thecam end against the bar 0 and crowds it downward toward bar m, andforces the front ends of the part G and jaws l l downward toward therests k 1:, made with the ends of the sides of the part G. Made with thepart G', also, is the handle-bar q.

As I have before stated, the knifeholder formed by the parts G and G isconnected to the rock bar or plate E by the cylindrical arm G, workingin sleeve F. Being thus connected the knife-holder may be turned to anyangle from a horizontal position, as shown by full lines in Fig. 2, tothat shown by dotted lines in the same figure. To retain the saidknife-holder set in an inclined or hoiizontal position, I make with theend of arm G the square, or equivalent, angular projection r, from thecenter of which extends the screwthreaded stem 8. \Vith the end of thesaid arm and its angular projection r and screwthreaded stem s is usedthe clamping-washer H, provided with a square hole, 1', correspondingwith the projection r and the hand-wheel screw-nut L.

- To place my improved device in position with the grindstone it is tobe used with, I first secure the device to the frame of the stone bymeans of screws or bolts, as shown in the several figures. I then securethe pivot end C of the check-bar A to the frame, as shown in Figs. 1, 3,and 4, and the slot end 0 to the pivoted frame B B B by the pin e,passing through one of the holes 1 in flange b of the said frame.

To adjust the parts of the device to the height or diameter of thestone, the operator will, by throwing down the lever end of thecam-lever D, release the adjustable frame from a lock with the pivotedframe, when the said adjustable frame, with the knife-holder, may beeither raised or lowered in relation to the pivoted frame, as thediameterofthestone may require.

To operate with this device, the knife-bar with its attached knives isplaced between the jaws l l of the part G of the knife-holder, and therests k Id made with the part G, which may be readily done by simplythrowing the lever end of the cam-lever p down, when the free end ofpart G may be raised to carry the jaws l I up from the rests k k, madewith the part G, when the knife-bar with its knives may be placed in theholder, as shown in Fig. 1, with the bar to which the knives areattached in the notches J J, and the knives projecting forward, as shownin said figure.

When the knife-bar and its knives are in position, the parts of theholder are to be locked together, to firmly hold the knives foroperation with the grinding-stone, by turning the lever end of thecam-lever downward, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

When the knives are to be shifted in either direction, the operator willthrow the lever of the cam-lever down to a short distance with one hand,and with the other move the knifebar in between the jaws of the holderto any distance required, when he will again clasp the same by raisingthe same lever.

If the circumference of the stone is plane from side to side, theoperator will first place the knife-bar in position in the knife-holder.He will then loosen the hand-wheel nut L slightly, when the knife-holderG G may be turned in either direction and to any angle that may berequired. to cause the angular edges of the knives to bear fully on thestone, when the said hand-wh'eel nut is to be tightened.

When the grinding-face of the stone is made angular in form-that is tosay, with two inclined faces running downward from the middle of thewidth of the stone to each side-the knife-holder will be set as shown inFig. 2 by full lines, in which case the incline faces will each operatewith the opposite edges of two adjoining knives, while, when set for aflat face stone, but a single edge of a single knife will be operatedwith.

The stone may be revolved by either a handcrank, or by a foot-treadleand crank, or by power.

\Vhen the stone is revolved the operator will grasp the handle q, and byit move the holder backward and forward alternately, so as to give tothe interlocked adj nstable and pivoted frames a vibratory movement to adistance which the slotted check'bar A will allow, when the edge of theknife will be ground from heel to point, and the reverse.

When the edge of a knife is nicked, the operator may stop for a momentthe vibratory movement of the device, and permit the stone to operatewith the nicked portion of the edge until it be ground out or sharpenedup.

It will be readily seen that by my improvements the several parts may bereadily adjusted and secured, and that the grasp of the knife-holderwith the knives may be loosened or tightened by a simple movement of thecamlever in an instant of time.

It will also be observed that, as the vibratory movement of the deviceis independent of the revolving of the stone, and is wholly effected bythe hand of the operator, the stone may be more or less rapidlyrevolved, and that the vibratory movement given to the knife may beeither quicker or slower, and that the pressure of the knife against thegrinding-surface of the stone may, at the will of the operator, beincreased or diminished.

As the diameter of the stone is decreased by wear, the pivot-jointedconnection of the rockplate, by which the knife-holder is secured to theadjustable frame, will permit the holding end of the knife-holder todrop, while, at the same time, it permits the operator to raise theknives up from contact with the stone at any moment.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is-

1. The combination of the frame, pivoted upon a base and supportedadjustably in relation to the surface of the stone, with thesupplementary sliding frame carrying the knifeholder, and capable ofbeing fixed at any desired point on the pivoted frame, as set forth.

2. The combination, with the pivoted frame B B B provided with ear B ofthe adjustable frame 0 G 0 provided with the slotted vertical bar 0 andthe cam-lever D, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, with the pivoted-frame and the adjustable frameprovided with mechanism to lock the latter with the former, of therock-plateE, pivoted to said adjustable frame, and the knife-holder G G,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination, with the rock-plate E,

R. PHILLIPS CLARKE.

Witnesses HENRY ADAMS, F. E. THoMPsoN.

